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Topic: My 5th Gouda (Read 1946 times)

Well, after my last attempt at Gouda, which turned into a balloon and floated away, I decided to try again. It also occurred to me (finally) that the typical milk that I buy is higher fat than protein (3.3 vs 3.2 grams, fat and protein, respectively). I decided to try increasing the protein, but probably went a bit overboard. Still, one thing I noticed was that the curd was much stronger (I'm assuming because there would be less homogenized fat, which weakens the curd doesn't it?) Also, the curds seemed much more stretchy, almost like they wanted to melt, when I was getting them ready to put in the mould. Anyway, I'm expecting the final cheese to be a bit smaller than usual because there are less solids in the mild (5.2 g/100 mls rathern than 6.5 g/100 ml, but we'll see. So far, the make has gone pretty well. Had a brief panic when I couldn't find the follower and it was about time to get the cheese into the mould.

Anyway, this gouda is targeting only a couple months as I've not had a young gouda in a while. And, I want to see what happens with the changes in the P:F ratio. Will post photos after it's brined tomorrow.

Well, so far so good. It's come out of the press at 1396g, and a density of 1.20g/cm3, which is pretty typical for my makes. It's in the brine now, but things don't change too much from brining, but they do a little. I guess we'll know in a couple of weeks if it's going to blow up again. Fingers crossed it won't.

I might wax it if it seems to dry out properly. Otherwise I'll probably just brush it back and may wash it every so often. I find my cheeses are always wet under the wax if I wax them before a couple months, and I'm planning on eating this around then anyway.

- Jeff

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The wise do not always start out on the right path, but they do know when to change course.

Just an update. This one has picked up a wild b.linens and has developed a very orange rind! It has a weight of 1122g, and height and width of 5.4x14.9 cm, for a density of 1.19 g/cm3. The shape has gone a bit oval, so the width is a rough average of the wide and narrow dimensions. The linens are quite pungent, probably the smelliest of the cheeses I've made. There is a washed rind gouda type, the name of which is escaping me at the moment, so this has transformed into ... that! I might leave this rind for awhile as it's protecting the cheese quite nicely. Will probably brush it right back a week or so before opening it, when ever that is.

Maybe Edam , Gouda and Edam are very similar , while Goudas were traditionally waxed , Edam were a washed rind , in fact it is said that , French Mimolette , is a copy of an Edam with cheese mites added to the rind.

The only reason I say this , is that as I am typing this , I am reading Caldwells book and making a 4 gallon Gouda right now , and was just reading up on these cheeses.

Esrom is a washed rind cheese as well.

That one looks good Jeff.

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No..........I'm not a professional CheeseMaker , but I play one on TV.

The wild b.linens rind on this has been really successful, and behaving itself very well. Occasional bit of mould shows up which I brush off, but generally pretty low maintenance. However, I've had some of these rinds go a bit amoniated in the past, and I wanted to avoid that, so I figured it was time to brush this right back. It's cleaned up very nice. The past is very pliable feeling, and it has clearly done it's magic and softened this up. However, tempted though I may be, I've decided to continue aging this. The photos show the brushing process mid-way, to see the contrast, and after the cleaning is more or less complete. I'll probably give it some good brushings over the next few days to get any residual paste, but once clean I'll let things redevelop if they so choose. It's cut back on the smell, which Vanessa is not disappointed about.